Stand With Corica Park
Your Questions Answered
What steps have you taken to communicate with the City Council, City Staff and City Golf Commission to resolve your differences and prevent litigation?
A: Greenway has made every effort to meet with City Council, City Staff and City Golf Commission members to discuss our new programs at the course that benefit the community and also to resolve any conflicts. Our efforts to schedule meetings to discuss any differences and work towards a resolution have for the most part been rebuffed or ignored. A letter written by Greenway to City Council before their closed session in April to discuss bringing litigation against Greenway is linked here. The appendix to this letter documents in full detail all of our communication prior to the City filing their lawsuit.
Why has construction on the North Course halted and when will construction resume?
A: The construction on the back nine holes of the North Course was initially halted in December 2021 after very heavy rains with plans to resume work in February 2022. A business dispute between Greenway’s owners coupled with the minority partner, who is also the construction manager, filing litigation in March 2022 against the company and its majority partner required construction to be halted for a longer period of time. The City of Alameda filing a lawsuit against Greenway and its majority owner in May 2022 led to an indefinite hold on all construction activity. Greenway maintains both lawsuits are without merit and the company and its majority owner have filed counter suits against both Greenway’s minority owner and the City of Alameda. Greenway hopes to resolve the dispute between the owners soon and that should allow for construction to recommence at the end of 2022 or in the first half of 2023. The plan is for the back nine holes of the North Course to be open for play by the middle of 2024. A recent letter to City Staff outlining our construction schedule is linked here.
I have heard that Greenway did not ask for consent for change in majority ownership. Did the Patel's ask the City of Alameda for consent for the ownership transfer and was the City aware of the transfer?
A: Greenway has written confirmation from the City Attorney, dated April 30, 2020 approving the transaction for the Patels to become majority owners. SEE LINK. This was a straightforward business transaction that was completed with all the necessary notifications to the City. Additionally, City has had numerous documented interactions with Patel since he invested in Greenway in his capacity as majority owner and CEO; they were fully aware of Patel’s decision- making power as controlling owner in these interactions.
I have heard that you have raised rates for juniors from $1 to $25 during twilight hours and that you do not honor Youth On Course. Why are you making it harder for juniors to play golf and what is your junior policy?
A: This information on junior rates is false. In line with our overall ethos of equal access, we have made it as easy as possible for every junior golfer, not harder, to play golf every day. In fact, rates for after school play were lowered from $1 for Youth on Course members under previous ownership to $0 for ALL youth under new ownership. All juniors 18 and under can play for free EVERY SINGLE DAY, after 3PM in the fall and winter and after 4PM in the spring and summer. Additionally, the MIF Par-3 course is free ALL DAY EVERY WEDNESDAY for juniors. We honor Youth On Course, but offer free golf to all juniors regardless of whether or not they have membership to the program because we recognize that not all juniors can afford the annual membership fee. We also have junior golf clubs available to borrow for youth who do not have equipment.
What else are you doing to increase access for juniors?
A: We have several no-cost programs which are designed to increase access to golf and the golf course space, support higher-level collegiate play and leverage golf to provide jobs and professional development to local high school students and young adults. Corica Park is also Youth On Course x TaylorMade DRIVE Club’s newest Community Hub, only the seventh in the county. We are excited about this collaboration and look forward to partnering on new youth programming in coming months . Learn more about all of our youth programs here.
I have heard that the Women’s Club now plays at a neighboring course in Oakland because you cut their tee times and raised rates, making it impossible for them to continue their play at Corica Park. Why did you drive out this long-standing golf club?
A: This is false information. The Women’s Club has not left Corica Park or been driven out. The Club still plays at Corica Park weekly or bi-weekly. We honor the long history of the Women’s Club and will always continue to welcome members at the course. However, we need to balance the Women’s and other Corica Park golf clubs’ needs with the needs of all our patrons. One of the biggest complaints we got these past two plus years was that it is almost impossible to get a tee time. It is important to note the majority of tee times that have been freed up from all the Clubs are taken by Alameda residents. The Women’s Club tee times were reduced on a weekly basis as they had greatly increased their allocated tee times during Covid and we simply took the number of available times back to the approximate level they had before the pandemic. We sincerely hope Women’s Club members can join us in dispelling the many falsehoods about their Club and its relationship with Corica Park.
What are you doing to promote female participation in golf?
A: We strongly support women who golf and to us, that means all women who golf. This is evidenced by our no-cost practice access to high school and collegiate women’s golf teams, and our On The Green Summer Camp, where we dedicated one full week of free camp to girls. We also invited Girls Inc. of Island City to participate in a camp session. Through our efforts, female participation in the camp increased from 33% in 2021 to 58% in 2022. The vast majority of these participants are girls who otherwise would have no access to golf. We have also worked very closely with the Alameda Commuters Committee, an organization that has been at Corica Park since 1928, to help introduce a Women’s Division to their tournament in 2022. We welcome their friendship and their openness to change, and to evolve, in growing access to the sport.
What other programs are you offering to make Corica Park a sustainable open space for everyone?
A: Our newest initiatives include a number of programs focused on diversifying space use. They are all designed to build community, expand access, and nurture opportunity. Some examples include our sports-based youth development training program for East Bay high school and collegiate golfers, and Soccer Without Borders alumni to provide them income, valuable job training, and ongoing professional development, our annual holiday small business gift fair in partnership with Alameda Chamber of Commerce, and a community garden project in partnership with Alameda County Community Food Bank and Sanctuary for Sustainable Artistry. We continue to explore new programs and initiatives that benefit the entire community. Please share your thoughts with us and bring us your ideas. Click here for more details on the social impact of Greenway programs.
What’s going on with the cart paths?
A: Greenway’s previous owners opened the new South Course without cart paths in June 2018. They hoped to go back and finish the cart paths after opening but never did. Greenway’s new majority owners came aboard in April 2020 and were unable to do any cart path work during the pandemic and whilst Greenway was completing the front nine holes of the North Course. The plan is to start the installation of new cart paths on all 18 holes of both the North and South Courses in 2023 and complete the work by the middle of 2024.
The carts are in disrepair. When will they be replaced?
A: The carts are in the fifth year of service and are showing some age. Our plan had been for a whole new cart fleet for both courses in 2023 but delays in construction from multiple lawsuits has pushed this back into 2024. We will now be receiving our new carts in the middle of 2024 and that will coincide with new cart paths across the whole property. In the meanwhile we are hoping to upgrade the seats for all the existing carts and make some other minor refurbishments.
My Alameda Junior Golf Club membership dues have increased because you are no longer subsidizing the program and AJGC can no longer afford the higher green fees you are charging them. Why did you increase their fees and why are you not supporting the program?
A: For the two summers of 2020 and 2021, Greenway supported the Alameda Junior Golf Club with free tee times totaling over $12,000. Furthermore, even with the 2022 rate increase, we supported the club with discounted tee times totaling over $4,000. Greenway is and has always been, one of the largest, if not the largest donor of the AJGC. We are still very much subsidizing and supporting the activities of the AJGC.
Alameda Junior Golf Club is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that has an independent board and a professionally managed large endowment. The Club provides a valuable golf program that has given generations of local youth the love of the game. Greenway increased fees for the AJGC in 2022 to reduce its subsidy to the Club and use those funds to support its own free summer camp program for underserved youth, many of whom are among Alameda’s most vulnerable children. They are unable to afford AJGC’s membership fees, have no transportation to the course or access to equipment to participate in the club’s programs. We view our programming as complementary to AJGC activities, with both programs together providing more options and reaching as many local junior golfers as possible. We sincerely hope that the AJGC Board will join us in correcting the many false narratives about Greenway’s support for youth golf.
Why did you not offer Alameda Junior Golf Club a reduced green fee to run their annual Jack Clark Tournament, forcing them to host their tournament at a neighboring course in Oakland?
A: Greenway was disappointed that the AJGC chose to move their annual fundraiser tournament to a course in Oakland. We offered the Club a significantly reduced green fee to run their tournament at Corica Park but they chose to host at a neighboring course and we respected that decision. We were happy to learn at a recent Golf Commission meeting that the tournament was a wonderful success and that over $15k was raised in a single day. Given that AJGC paid Greenway $3,220 for 228 total tee times in the 2022 summer season, this $15k raised is enough to cover green fees for all juniors in their program for at least the next four summers. We hope the AJGC will offer no-cost memberships to all juniors for the coming years and increase access to the game for all youth who want to participate in their programs. We congratulate AJGC for their efforts over many years to build a large endowment and fundraising operation that would allow them to offer free programs to all youth for the foreseeable future without endangering their financial viability in any way
Who participates in your no-cost programs?
A: Our program participants include several East Bay non-profit organizations, Alameda small businesses, Alameda schools and Bay Area college and high school golf teams, among others. Many local restaurants are also among our generous program donors. Click here to see a list of our program partners, participants & donors.
Email: [email protected]